Three friends come together in order to plot and bring down their annoying influencer roommate, only to find her dead in the short film Slay by director Fran St Clair.
It’s really exciting when we get to see fresh talent for the first time. People who are eager to show the world their skills, voices, ideas, and creations. Ever so often, a film by a new director appears on our desks and, after watching their short or feature, we just have a feeling that they could go on to big things; that there is definitely a place in the market for their style and work. With Slay, we can honestly say, that young Fran St Clair is one such filmmaker. That’s not to say the short is perfect, but it has a uniqueness to it that helps it stand out, and isn’t that what we the audience want? Something new and different?
Written, directed by, and even starring Fran St Clair, Slay opens up with three female friends, Jade (Fran St Clair), Heather (Kelsey Cooke), and Phoebe (Charlotte Pathe) as they gather in the bathroom for a late-night meeting. The subject of their meeting is their other roommate Danielle (India Plummer) who is fast asleep in her bedroom. You see, Danielle is an influencer who is forever posting videos with make-up tutorials, or about fashion and being a vegan. The girls gripe about how she is lazy around the house and is forever bringing men back to their home, and they are sick of it.
During the meeting, they form an elaborate plan that will bring Danielle down. They will show the world who she really is, which will help to lose her followers, her endorsement deals, and her income. She will then no longer be able to pay her rent which will then make her homeless. In order to get the ball rolling, they need to steal her phone, which she keeps under her pillow. Jade pulls the short straw and has to enter Danielle’s bedroom, but what looks like a simple theft, takes a turn for the worst, as Danielle is found dead in her bed – her throat slit. This then leads to in-fighting between the girls, as they all blame one another for the murder.
Coming together like a short British version of Heathers, mixed with Mean Girls, Slay is a funny 14-minute romp with some excellent and funny performances by all the girls involved. They relish in the dialogue provided by St Clair’s script, which is filled with dark and relevant comedy throughout. The editing, by both Laura Makai and St Clair (again), is fast and works very well, as does the music by George St Clair (obviously a relative of Fran), especially his song “Slay A Bitch” featuring Bunni Stabbit on vocals, which plays alongside some hilarious video on the end credits; that’s very good.
As stated above, Slay is not a perfect short (what is?) but it’s a lot of fun and features four actresses that, should the stars align for them, go on to have good careers in the film and/or television industry. Excellent work Fran St Clair. Keep them coming.
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